The vibrant blue-and-yellow costume that Cyclops donned for most of the 90s’ X-Men comics has been brought to life in a new cosplay that proves this daring color scheme can work in the real world.
The Marvel Comics version of Cyclops has been with the X-Men since their inception, appearing as a crucial member of the original team in The X-Men #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. His first individualized costume after proving himself as a recruit resembled a blue scuba suit, with yellow gloves, boots, visor, and ‘underwear’ over his costume. As his aesthetic evolved, the 90s iteration made the blue of the fabric more pronounced, opened up his costume’s head covering to reveal a perfect head of hair and added bulging muscles that gave his outfit a sculpted quality. However, when live-action versions of some of the X-Men’s key members were re-imagined for their big screen debut in 2000, their signature bright and bold costumes were replaced by a more muted style. Similar to what was found in The Matrix the year prior, Cyclops appeared in black leather, adhering to the era’s popular aesthetic. Future movies would style Cyclops as more of a traditional superhero, but never to the same extent as the comics.
Though the ’90s is known as a comic book era that took things to extremes in terms of color palette, musculature, firearms, and narrative choices, the Cyclops cosplay shared by chrstphr_b on Instagram reinforces what makes this era’s costume best in class. This picture-perfect look undoubtedly made the attendees of London MCM Comic-Con feel that Scott Summers had stepped right off the page, giving fans a thrilling encounter with X-Men’s official greatest hero. Part of the realism is because of an amazing morphsuit that chrstphr_b credits to @supergeek designs. In cosplay, morphsuits are the head-to-toe spandex suits that pile on the muscles and recreate the impressive proportions seen in comics and also match the full-body nature of a large majority of the most iconic costumes (like those of Spider-Man, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, and others.)
With such bright colors, the cosplayer exudes the confidence and authority that is Scott Summers’ trademark. Even with a history of trauma and doubt, the X-Men’s leader remained one of mutantkind’s more optimistic voices in the ’90s, embracing his mission as protector of both humans and mutants. This was a far cry from the black-and-red Dark Phoenix costume he dons when he descends into villainy. With this cosplay evoking the same style that carried over to popular and upbeat animated TV series, one can almost forget that Cyclops has darker days ahead in a new event called A.X.E. Judgment Day and that he killed Charles Xavier and became a mutant terrorist at the conclusion of the Avengers vs. X-Men series.
This epic cosplay ultimately shows that Cyclops can lead more than just the X-Men, daring the live-action superhero universes to employ the iconic looks and colors that made the source material work in the first place.
Source: chrstphr_b